Veteran receivers put their injuries to the test during individual drills in practice, but their availability against Kansas City is uncertain. Let us investigate the cause.
So, what exactly is Keenan Allen and Mike Williams’ injury?
The Chargers’ top wide receivers, Allen and Williams, put their hamstring and ankle injuries to the test during individual drills in practice – for the first time in a long time.
They were both eager to play after collapsing, leaving the Chargers without two of their best offensive threats.
Allen suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the Chargers’ season-opening game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 11. He didn’t play again until the first half of the team’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 23. He then suffered a series of setbacks, forcing him to miss the Chargers’ next two games.
Allen’s injury was the first in what seemed like an endless string of them, leaving the Chargers scrambling to fill key positions at times.
Guyton, edge rusher Joey Bosa (groin tear), and left tackle Rashawn Slater (ruptured biceps) were all injured in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 25.
When asked if he would play Sunday night against the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium, Keenan Allen smiled broadly.
“I hope, I hope,” he said, repeating himself for emphasis. “I want to.”
Mike Williams laughed when asked the same question.
“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe.”
In the Chargers’ loss to the Seahawks, Williams suffered a high ankle sprain.
When combined with Allen’s and Jalen Guyton’s (season-ending ACL injury), his absence left the Chargers shorthanded at wide receiver, with Michael Bandy, DeAndre Carter, and Joshua Palmer moving up the depth chart.
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“We’re about to find out right now,” Williams said before participating in a few light drills at the start of practice.
“Wednesday will tell a lot. I feel it (returning to the starting lineup Sunday against the Chiefs) would be big for the offense, for sure. It would just add another threat to the offense.”
Coach Brandon Staley was noncommittal when asked if he expected Allen and Williams back on the field for Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs (7-2).
He said he expected to watch them closely in practice Wednesday and Thursday and to know more by Friday.
Staley said: “It’s only Wednesday, but you’ll see them in practice this week.”
“It’s been a tough stretch for us for the last five or six games,” Staley said this as part of a longer statement about the impact of so many key offensive player injuries in recent weeks, when the Chargers (5-4) have managed to stay above.500.
“We just didn’t get off to a good start on first downs in that game, on those runs in the second half, we weren’t able to generate anything.” Staley added.
There was a glimmer of hope when they took the field for practice on Wednesday. The additions of Allen, 30, and Williams, 28, would undoubtedly provide quarterback Justin Herbert with two veteran targets capable of making clutch plays in critical situations, something the Chargers lacked in the second half against the 49ers on Sunday.
Injury Report for Chargers – Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Mike Williams: Questionable
Williams (ankle) remained limited at practice Thursday.
- WR Keenan Allen: Questionable
Allen (hamstring) remained limited at practice Thursday.
- PK Dustin Hopkins: Questionable
Hopkins (hamstring) was listed as a non-participant on the Chargers’ injury report Thursday.
Kansas City Chiefs
- WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: Questionable
Valdes-Scantling (illness) returned to a limited practice Thursday.
- RB Jerick McKinnon: Questionable
McKinnon (hamstring/shoulder) remained limited at practice Thursday.
- WR JuJu Smith-Schuster: Questionable
Smith-Schuster (concussion) won’t practice Thursday, Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star reports.
- WR Mecole Hardman: Injured Reserve
Hardman (abdomen) has been placed on IR by the Chiefs.
